A second-half stoppage time goal from Cecilio Waterman earned Panama a late 1-0 win over the United States in the semifinals of the Concacaf Nations League on Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
With the game looking like it was headed to extra time, Waterman hit a low shot from just outside the penalty area that beat U.S. keeper Matt Turner and sent the Panamian bench into wild celebrations. Waterman’s shot was the only one Panama had on goal in the match.
The loss means the United States will not play in the final on Sunday and see its dominance of the competition — the Americans have won the only three editions of the Nations League — come to an end.
The Americans had lost two of their last three games against Panama coming into the match, including a 2-1 defeat in the group stage of the 2024 Copa América that saw the host U.S. fail to reach the knockout round.
After a slow start to the match, the U.S. started to gain some traction in the attacking third near the 20th minute, with Josh Sargent hitting the post from close range and Weston McKennie sending a header from a Timothy Weah cross right at Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera.
Sargent had the ball in the back of the net minutes later after the ball fell for him in the center of the area, but Weah was flagged for offside in the buildup and the goal was ruled out.
After the break, both sides continued to struggle to find any kind of sustained attack and U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino brought on Jack McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang in the 68th minute to try to find a winner in regular time.
Agyemang, who impressed in two games during the January window, came up short with a pair of chances as the second half rolled on, one denied on a solid save from Mosquera and one the Charlotte striker scuffed over the bar at the near post.
Panama will face the winner of Thursday’s late game between Canada and Mexico in the final on Sunday, while the U.S. will play the loser of that game in the third-place match prior to that.
>
